Wire straightening



April 10, 1934. K. w. HALLDEN WIRE STRAIGHTENING Filed Feb. 17, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR KWXA 71 a J hr. $2. A TTORNEYF April 10, 1934. K. w. HALLDEN 1,954,525

WIRE STRAIGHTENING Filed Feb. 17, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR,

ATTORNEYX April 10, 1934. w HALLDEN 1,954,525

WIRE STRAIGHTENING Filed Feb. 17, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR,

KM WJLQ/QOLW A TTORNEW Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in wire straightening of the form as applied to the straightening relatively heavy material that supplied in coil form and more particularly to material of odd forms of cross-section, other than cylindrical, and known as shapes, the straightening being usually done in conjunction with some other operation upon the material, such as cutting-01f, and theobject of my improvement is to provide means for wire straightening that comprises a plurality of units that individually operate by means of suitable bending rolls in a single plane, the material being fed through a series of such units that operate in different planes, which units are provided with means of adjustment for the opposed cooperating rolls of a unit for different sizes of material and the like and for varying the bending pressure, and, furthermore, in which such changes in adjustment operate substantially similarly as to the amount of movement and the like of the rolls on the two sides of the material, such movements as are involved being uniformly relative to a predetermined line or axis, and, with the different successive units set operatively in alignment the stock will always be fed along the same line and directed properly towards the cutters or the like, regardless as to the dimensions of the stock that is operated upon.

In the accompanying drawings:

' Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying my improved wire straightening, com- .prising two straightening units, and incorporated in a cutting-01f machine that operates to effect the cutting of the stock while maintained continuously moving through the machine, involving the use of a flying shear.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a view of the other end.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of the first straightening unit.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, showing the main worm drive and associated parts, being in part broken away.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4, showing the main driven shaft of the upper roll cage and some of the closely associated parts, the section being taken through and along the axis of the said roll cage about which as a unitary structure the cage is shifted in changing the angular relation, and which axis is coincident with that of said main driven shaft.

Fig. 7 is a generally similarly located section of the lower roll cage on the angular line 7'77 of Fig. 4, in which the two axes are not coincident.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the pinch-roll straightener.

Fig. 9 is a similar diagrammatic view of the cutting-off mechanism. 1

My improved means for wire straightening, as shown, comprises a pair of straightening units arranged for operating on the material in planes that are at right angles one to the other and incorporated with means for cutting the material while in motion at the full speed of the feeding to the cutters, involving the use of a flying shear.

Thus, the unit 10 at the left end of the machine as shown in Fig. 1 operates upon the stock by means of straightening and feeding rolls comprising a set of upper rolls 11 and a set of lower rolls 12 that under conditions of use bend the stock along a wavy line in a vertical plane. A second unit 13 has rolls 14 that operate upon the stock in a horizontal plane.

Next to this second unit 13 there is a pair of pinching rolls 15 for the final guiding of the stock to the cutter 16. Said cutter 16 is carried by a gate 17 that is part of a flying shear structure 18 that is arranged for cutting the stock while in motion at full speed as it is fed continuously 30 through the machine.

The rolls are individually mounted on the ends of their supporting shafts; those of a particular set are operatively interconnected by means of suitable gears; such gears comprising gears on the roll shafts and intermediate gears on their individual shafts; and one of the gear supporting shafts is provided with a gear that meshes with the drive means for driving all of the gears of a set.

Double bearings are provided for the different shafts by means of spaced front and rear members 19 and the interengaging gears 20 are housed within the space 21 therebetween.

The driven gear 22 for each of the cages is on the rear end of its supporting shaft.

The novelty of the present invention resides primarily in the provision of two opposed and cooperating cages and the construction and operating details pertaining thereto. Each set of rolls with interengaging gears, supporting shafts therefor, and a driven shaft that serves as the transmission element and thus supported and operated as a unit and provision is made for limited movement bodily towards and away one from the other and also angular movement, and the two cages are simultaneously operated, and all movements are made in substantially equal amounts for the two cages relatively to the one common axis for the machine.

Thus considering the upper cage 23, the front and rear members 19 have been mentioned. Bearings 24 are provided therein for the short shafts 25 that carry the intermediate gears 20. The members 19 themselves are mechanically held together in any proper manner, as by means of bolts. Front and rear guide plates 26 supported by the machine frame 2'7 are opposed to the outer faces of the members 19 for guiding them, and the holding bolts 28 are adjacent the ends of the members 19. The end faces 29 of the members 19 are curved to conform to a selected center and are provided with worm teeth for cooperating with a worm 30 on the wogm shaft 31.

The selected center in this instance is the axis of the transmission or driven shaft 32 that supports the driven. gear 22 mentioned. I

Said driven gear 22 is a worm gear'and the shaft 32 therefor carries at the front end a feed roll 11 like others in the same set. The shaft 32 is longer. than the other shafts 25 of the set,

being extended rearwardly through an extension 33 of the rear member 19; supports the worm gear 22 by its rear free end; and is provided with a bearing 34 in the extension 33 for the proper support of the extended shaft.

The drive for the worm gear 22 is a worm 35 on the vertical worm drive shaft 36. Said shaft 36 projects downwardly past the lower cage or box 37; supports a second worm,38 for driving the rolls and the like for the said lower cage or box 37; projects below the upper machine frame 27 and by its bottom end enters within the space enclosed by the lower base frame 39; supports by said bottom end a bevel gear 40; the latter being driven by the bevel gear 41 on the main power shaft 42.

Transmission means are thus provided for driving from the main power shaft 42 of the rolls 11 and the like of the upper cage or box 23 and involving the use of the upper worm 35 and the lower worm 38 meshes with the worm gear 43 for driving the rolls 12 of the bottom cage or box 37. Said lower worm gear 43 is mounted on the rear extension 44 of a shaft 45 that does not support a roll; being merely an idler or intermediate shaft that drives all of the associated gears, shafts, and rolls by its spur gear 20 that is like the corresponding gears 20 of the upper cage 23.

The cage drive shaft 45 is between a pair of shafts 25 that are in a lower row and carry no rolls and that carry the idler gears for meshing with the gears on the upper row of shafts 25 that carry the rolls 12. The cooperating gears 20 on the different shafts 25 are housed within a space 21 between the opposed side members 19 generally as in the case of the upper cage 23. Likewise, the end faces 29 of the said side members 19 are curved and provided with a set of worm teeth.

The cooperating and driving lower worm 30 is mounted on the vertical worm shaft 31 already mentioned as supporting the upper worm 30.

Two worms, 35 and 38, have been mentioned as being provided on the vertical drive shaft 36. These are similar as to direction of construction and effect, being either right handed or left handed.

In the cases of the worms 30, one upper and the other lower, these are different, one being righthanded and the other being left handed.

The worms 30 it may be noted are provided duplex at each end and both ends; there being two vertical shafts 31 at each end and in=front and back spaced relation; the shafts 31 project above the supporting frame 27; gears 46 are mounted respectively on the projecting upper ends and in a common horizontal plane; a small gear 47 between the two serves as the drive gear; and the shaft 48 for said drive gear 4'7 is provided with a hand wheel 49.

Means are thus provided involving the manipulation of the two hand wheels 49 for positioning the two cages 23 and 37 in various ways within definite limits but suflicient for effecting the desired adjustments for proper operation for the range of stock for which the machine is designed, and which in the present instance involves relatively heavy duty., I

The second unit 13 is constructed and arranged almost precisely like the first unit 10 except such differences as are involved in the difference in direction of operation upon the stock.

These two straightening units, the pinching rolls, and the cutting devices are initially aligned so that all operations and movements are related to one straight-line axis that corresponds to the general line of the stock.

The different movements for adjustment may be either movement bodily of the two cages toward and away from one another and also simultaneous angular movements, the latter involving a more or less divergent relation of the opposed cooperating rolls. For the body movements the two cages as a whole must be properly aligned, involvingproper vertical alignment for the first cage. For the angular adjustments the two centers must be in alignment. For the first unit 10 these centers are the axes of the two main transmission shafts, being the shaft 32 for the upper cage 23 and the shaft 45 for the lower cage 37.

The two cages are individually operatively supported by worm gearing at the ends; are essentially free to move bodily to the extent required; and at the same time are supported andguided for rotative movement to the extent needed relatively to other worm gearing located operatively at the axis of such rotative or angular movement.

As described, the structure provides a wire straightening machine that has in combination a series of wire stranghtening units, two in nu if her and operating respectively in different planes on the wire. Each of said units comprises wire engaging rolls that are arranged in two groups that are opposed one to the other for operating on opposite sides of the wire and in a definite plane. The rolls are power driven, operate on the wire by bending, and effect the feeding of the wire through the machine.

The respective groups of rolls are supported individually as a unit. Worm gear devices of one form serve as the means for operatively supporting the groups. Other worm gear devices serve as the means of transmitting power to the rolls.

Thus the rolls grip the wire for effecting the bending and feeding and changes in the positions of the rolls relatively to the wire effect a change in the gripping of the wire.

Changes in the gripping effect are desired to change the forceful engagement of the rolls on a wire of a particular size and to accommodate differences in sizes of wire.

The worm gear devices that support the roll groups are two in number, one 'at each end. At a particular end, the group supporting means for the opposed groups are interconnected through the medium of a worm gear for each mounted on a common shaft and a single hand wheel is provided for operating said shaft.

The parts are constructed and arranged so that rotation of a particular hand wheel that is associated with the corresponding group ends operates to change the wire receiving space between said ends, either increasing or decreasing the same, and likewise, each to the proper degree as related to a particular straight line that may be said to represent the axis of the machine and that is in alignment with the straightened wire as it leaves the machine. With two straightening units as mentioned and as shown, there are four straightening stations as identified by the regulating or adjusting hand wheels that are distributed along the machine.

Operating one hand wheel only or operating one wheel of a unit more than the other changes the angular relation of the two groups of a unit.

The structure described permits of arranging the two units in spaced relation along the wire with all of the operating parts so related to the axis of the machine that manipulation of any one or of all of the different hand wheels will effect changes of contact pressure that are one and all properly related to the axis of the machine. This construction permits of locating the two units in close association, with a minimum of longitudinal spacing between them and without liability of producing a kink or undesirable distortion of the wire being operated upon.

The cages thus are virtually supported to float under guidance and direction, all under control of the hand wheels at the ends.

Considering the structure as a whole, the parts are constructed and arranged so that they can be set or adjusted for effective operation relatively to one single straight line, which line can be regarded as the axis of the machine and is generally represented by the stock being operated upon, it being understood that said stock follows a more or less wavy line for the portions going through the cage structures and being op-v erated upon by the rollers.

After being once so set, as for a particular size of stock, all subsequent changes in setting whether for varying the operativeeifect on one particular size of stock or for a change in the size of the stock, will be made symmetrically with reference to said axis.

As mentioned, the changes may be body changes along straight lines, across the stock, thus changing the degree of separation of the cages or units or the changes" may be in angular relation, involving a change in the degree of relation angular-wise relatively to said axis.

Such results are particularly important under conditions involving the use of a plurality of cages or units in succession, such as the two here shown and arranged in planes that are at a right-angle one to the other. These two units are separated by a space that is bridged by the stock. If there is a rise or fall of the bridging stock in this space a damaging set or kink may develop in the stock that prevents proper straightening.

I claim as my invention:--

1. A wire straightening machine comprising in combination a series of wire straightening units, wire pinching rolls, and cutting devices, said straightening units comprising each a pair of opposed groups of wire-engaging rolls, individual housing for supporting said groups, means for movably supporting said housings as individual structures, and connecting means interconnecting said means for effecting simultaneous movement of the opposed housings and the groups of rolls supported thereby.

2. A wire straightening machine described in claim 1, said connecting means involving the use of worm gearing.

3. In a wire straightening machine, opposed groups of feeding and bending rolls, a cage-like support for each of said groups that is itself constructed and arranged so as to be supported as a unit for limited body movement of either translation or rotation or both.

4. In a wire straightening machine as described in claim 3, worm-gearing engaged with the ends of said cage-like support serving in each case as the means for operative support thereof.

5. In wire straightening machine as described in claim 3, a shaft for one of the rolls ofeach group serving as a power. transmission shaft for the group, and worm-gearing serving as the means for driving said shaft.

6. In a wire straightening machine, a straight ening unit comprising an opposed pair of groups of wire engaging rolls for bending and feeding the wire, worm gear devices provided with means for operatively supporting said rolls and other worm gearing devices serving as the means of transmitting power to said rolls for effecting such bending and feeding.

7. In a wire straightening machine as described in claim 6, said first mentioned worm gear devices being constructed and arranged so as to serve as shifting means for shifting the individual groups of rolls bodily in a straight line movement and likewise rotatively about an axis as a center.

8. In a wire straightening machine as described in claim 6, said first mentioned worm gear devices being constructed and arranged so as to serve as means for changing the gripping effect of the rolls on the wire being operated upon.

9. In a wire straightening machine, two groups of rolls in cooperation on opposite sides of the wire, means for supporting the rolls of each group as a unit, and said means being constructed and arranged so as to operate as coupling means under operative control for effecting simultaneous movement of the two groups for translation, rotation, and both.

10. In a wire straightening machine, a pair of straightening units arranged in closely spaced relation for operating upon the same wire in angularly spaced planes, each of said units com prising a pair of groups of rollers. with a cage for each of said groups, means for driving said rollers, and worm gear devices at the ends of said cages serving as the means for the operative sup port thereof.

11. A wire straightening machine comprising a first and a second wire straightening unit arranged in spaced relation for operating upon the same wire, each of said units comprising wire contacting rolls arranged in groups, with a pair of such groups opposed one to the other for each unit, supporting means for eachof said groups, connecting means inter-connecting said supporting means for simultaneous operation and having had control means for effecting such simultaneous operation, whereby means are pro- 

